138 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



Off. Doc 



CHOLERA OF CHICKENS 



Among the many diseases of poultry, the only one recognized by 

 our law is fowl cholera. The Board is authorized to look after 

 other transmissible diseases of poultry at any time when it seems 

 advisable to do so. It is a malignant transmissible disease of all 

 species of birds and is caused by micro-organisms easily found in the 

 blood of diseased birds. The organism is known as the bacillus 

 avisepticus. The disease is characterized by high fever, profuse 

 diarrhoea and rapid death. In most cases the death rate runs as 

 high as 90 to 100 per cent. It is primarily a European disease yet 

 it occurs in the United States and Canada. It made its appearance 

 in this country in 1880 and again in 1898. Dr. Salmon, the late 

 Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry, made a careful study of 

 the disease and gave the results of his investigation in the Annual 

 Reports of the Department of Agriculture in 1899. The disease is 

 mentioned in the Pennsylvania law for the reason that it is a de- 

 structive preventable disease of poultry and all precautions should 

 be taken to prevent its introduction or spread. Poultrymen and 

 veterinarians are urged to report fatal outbreaks of transmissible 

 diseases of poultry, especially where the cause of death or the char- 

 acter of the disease is unknown so that such disease as cholera may 

 be recognized before they become wide spread. The Board is equipped 

 to do much more in the future than in the past in the way of investi- 

 gating the diseases of poultry. Poultry raising is fast becoming an 

 important branch of agriculture and all safeguards possible should 

 be thrown around this industry. 



The following tables will show the most imi^ortant diseases of 

 poultry studied during the past two years: 



DISEASES OF POULTRY INVESTIGATED AT THE LABORATORY 



DURING 1914 



Diagnosis Determined 



Pneumonia, 



Enteritis 



Internal hemorrliage, 



Roup, 



Hepatitis, 



Typhilitis 



Carcinohatosis, 



Tuberculosis 



Abdominal cysts, 



Coceidiosis, 



Contagious epitlielioma 



Hernia of gizzard 



Aspergilosis, 



Peritonitis, 



Entero liepatitis 



Fatty degeneration of liver, 



Neg. fowl cholera, 



Returned 



Not determined 



Decomposed and discarded. 

 Miscellaneous 



1 



1 



2 



1 i 



2 



8 



1 



1' 



